Some 52 percent of soldiers severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan who have come to the U.S. Army's largest hospital for treatment have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), an internal study has found.

The results of the study, carried out by Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, also showed a steep increase -- from 33 percent -- in TBI cases since the end of 2008.

Diagnoses of TBI are rising steadily as arrangements for TBI checks improve, while at the same time improvised explosive device (IED) attacks -- the primary cause of TBI -- in Afghanistan are intensifying, with 46 U.S. soldiers killed by the homemade bombs so far this year. Casualties from these attacks flow into Walter Reed, which provides treatment to badly wounded soldiers unavailable anywhere else.
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I would hazard a guess that due to advances in CBA people are now surviving incidents which would previously have killed them. In other words, there aren't more brain injuries, just more people surviving their accompanying injuries.

I would hazard a guess that due to advances in CBA people are now surviving incidents which would previously have killed them. In other words, there aren't more brain injuries, just more people surviving their accompanying injuries.

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Nah, what they don't tell you is that it is a pre-existing condition. After all, wht else would we enlist / re-enlist. 5 times in my case.

I would hazard a guess that due to advances in CBA people are now surviving incidents which would previously have killed them. In other words, there aren't more brain injuries, just more people surviving their accompanying injuries.

Click to expand...

A bit like WW1 the large number of head injuries that were treated occured at the same time as the issue of the early tin lids.

This doesn't refer to severe head injuries, as in penetrating or blunt trauma from bullets, shrapnel or debris, what it's actually referring to is Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

This is still a very controversial area of medecine and it's fair to say that there's a number of people who aren't convinced yet. Even though it comes from very reputable sources it's at best unproven hypothesis at this point, particularly with regard to long term symptomology though the US miltary have charged off with it full steam ahead. There aren't many 'facts' to be had just yet as it's poorly understood.

Fundamentally if you've been near an explosion and hit by the shock wave at all you may well have a diagnosis of MBTI according to the proponents of this. Symptoms are allegedly similar to PTSD in some cases.

My limited understanding was the use of the new helmet suspension systems help in combating this. The old leather sweatband (basically unchanged since 1941) was replaced with foam pads in the PASGT & ACH/MICH helmets that help in lessening the shock when one gets a hit to the Brain Housing Group. When I was hit, the 3 things that are still apparent is no memory after My Driver saying something to me "Bang" until about 20 minutes later, and no sense of taste or smell anymore.

Last Sunday in The Times, there was some pretty horrific photo's of US veterans who had served or fallen in Iraq. The most poignant one for me was the poor soul who had lost half his brain.
Truly shocking, especially in black and white.